Inspired by the iconic holiday window displays along Fifth Avenue, Jaguar sought to contribute to the New York City Christmas culture with its own bit of automotive pomp and circumstance as it unveiled its national “Unwrap a Jaguar” holiday advertising campaign. Enlisting the design expertise of HGTV personality Jonathan Scott of Property Brothers fame, the British automaker unveiled a mobile holiday window featuring its E-Pace compact performance SUV—an industry first—that will travel in a continuous loop from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. throughout Manhattan through December 23.
Conceived in three months time, 360-degree cameras both inside and out capture the traveling double-decker bus; the interior and exterior elements of which are fully lit in LED lights. In short, according to Stuart Schorr, vice president of communications at Jaguar Land Rover, the activation is about bringing Jaguar into the holiday conversation in a fun and playful way. “We asked ourselves, ‘What do people in New York City really love doing during the holiday season?’” he said. “Instead of working with a store or building a static display, a rolling activation contributes to the sense of celebration and excitement in the city.”
And so, on Tuesday, Scott was on hand at Flatiron Plaza South (the same site where, in 2015, Jaguar enlisted Christina Hendricks to reveal its aluminum XF sedan) to literally unwrap the Plexiglass panels of the bus. “Gift wrapping is not meant to be saved,” Scott joked. “You are supposed to be vicious and ferocious and get to what’s inside.” Vector Media, which commands the largest number of transit markets in the country, retrofitted a gutted double decker to accommodate the Firenze Red E-Pace while Brooklyn-based Carisma wrapped the two-story bus in 900 square feet of signature tartan print vinyl, in a nod to Scott's Scottish roots, complete with an oversized gift tag that reads: “From: Jonathan Scott, To: Jaguar.”
“If someone was just outside of our window and looking in during the holidays, that warmth they would see within our home is what I wanted to capture,” said Scott, the occasion marking his first time renovating a double-decker bus. After the E-Pace was forklifted into the wood-paneled space, roughly 200 pounds of styrofoam-like material reminiscent of snow covered the reinforced steel base to which it was anchored. Completing the wintery scene were fairy lights and ornaments, which lent an air of sophistication, while garland, holly, and berries were quintessential holiday decor must-haves. A faux brick facade on one end evoked the warmth of a fireplace.
Also, in an industry-first partnership with Pinterest, online viewers may digitally unwrap Pins featuring the E-Pace and explore 360-degree views of the mobile holiday window with interactive hotspots inside the Pins. One person will also get the chance to win their own E-Pace by entering a sweepstakes.
